This is the Volvo XC40 Recharge, the Swedish carmaker’s first mass-market electric vehicle and the first model to be part of its brand new Recharge line-up. It’s essentially an all-electric version of the regular XC40, and serves as a statement of intent as the company aims to be climate neutral by 2040.
Given the Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) used for the XC40 was designed from the start with electrification in mind, the adoption of an electric powertrain in the XC40 Recharge sees the battery pack being positioned in the floor of the vehicle. This adds around 400-500 kg of weight over a regular XC40, with the EV tipping the scales at around 2,150 to 2,250 kg, depending on fitted equipment.
To meet Volvo’s high safety standards, the battery is protected by a safety cage which consists of a frame of extruded aluminium embedded in the car’s body structure, creating a built-in crumple zone around the battery. Additionally, the absence of a combustion engine required the engineers to redesign and reinforce the frontal structure.
Bringing out the fact sheet, the XC40 Recharge’s P8 AWD powertrain features a dual-motor setup – one on each axle – that provides a total system output of 402 hp (408 PS or 300 kW) and 660 Nm of torque. In terms of performance, the EV will complete the zero the 100 km/h sprint in just 4.9 seconds and hit a top speed of 180 km/h.
Thanks to the 78 kWh lithium-ion battery, you’ll get around 400 km of range on a single charge following WLTP regulations. When depleted, the car can be recharged via a Type 2 AC connection, which will take about 7.5 hours when plugged into an 11 kW three-phase charger.
Alternatively, there’s also DC charging support up to 150 kW with a CCS connection, in which case a zero to 80% state of charge is achieved in just 40 minutes – the charging ports are located on the left side of the vehicle. Volvo is even offering free electricity for a year to further encourage electric driving, provided through a refund for the average electricity cost during that period.
The XC40 Recharge is easily identified from the front thanks to a covered front grille as less airflow is required for cooling purposes. Beyond that, it looks pretty much like a regular XC40, and you’ll need to look closer to spot subtle details like the Recharge script on the C-pillars and model-specific emblem on the tailgate.
As Volvo opted against installing the charging ports at the front of the vehicle like with other EVs, and the electric motor takes up a lot less space there, the XC40 Recharge gets a frunk with 31 litres of capacity that complements the 413 litres available in the rear boot.
Moving inside, the EV shares an identical layout with a standard XC40, but is distinguished from a standard XC40 by a revised 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster that has model-specific displays to monitor the status of the EV powertrain.
The model is also the first Volvo to get a new infotainment system that runs on Android Automotive OS in place of the Sensus system. With it, users will get full access to many Google services and apps from the Play Store, and the system is fully integrated with the Volvo On Call digital connected services platform.
“We have said this several times before: for Volvo Cars, the future is electric. Today we take a major new step in that direction with the launch of our fully electric XC40 and the Recharge car line,” said Håkan Samuelsson, CEO of Volvo Cars. Moving forward, Recharge will be the overarching name for all chargeable Volvos with a fully electric and plug-in hybrid powertrain.
The XC40 Recharge is an important vehicle for the company as it targets to have 50% of its global sales to be made up of all-electric cars by 2025, with the rest being hybrids. According to the company, every new Volvo model launched as of this year will be electrified, and over the next five years, the company plans to launch a fully electric car every year.
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I wonder how government wants to collect road tax for any full EV cars, because they have no engines and hence no CO2 emission at all. Will it be based on battery size?
As I understand, BMW i3S have a roadtax of RM42 yearly. So yeah, there will be roadtax for now but in years down the road, not sure what will change.
long way to go, perhaps Malaysia still need 100-200 years for fully EV car here, that time we already die long time already
Engine output.
UK: £320 per year if the electric vehicles priced at more than £40,000. EV’s priced <£40,000 are currently exempt from vehicle tax (to push EV sales, will change in the future).
Wish this can come to Malaysia. Though our infra is not yet ready. Anyways, the recharged XC40 shld drive differently from the regular XC40 as power/torque distribution looks it could be 50/50 front and back. And the weight distribution is probably equal front and back too.
infra is ready. ev users charge at home.
Wow. Knowing the fact proton x50/geely binyue is on the same platform as this xc40, really looking forward for the proton x50 version of this electric powertrain with 2wd and less power.